The quiet before the greatEST STORM in WWE!
Photo Credit: WWE 2023 Royal Rumble
In our lifetime, WWE has produced some of the best rivalries in pro wrestling: Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart, Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock...all of which left us with bated breath to see who would come out on top as the victor. And while the women's division has had its rivalries, they've been few and far between and for the most part, lackluster. AJ Lee vs Paige, "The Man' Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey, Trish Stratus vs Lita, and Sasha Banks vs Bayley. The women's division has had its problems over the years with WWE Creative having a hard time developing coherent stories for the women's roster.
I believe that the WWE women's roster suffers from remnants of the Divas era of women's wrestling: good-looking women in skimpy wrestling gear but no talent for wrestling. However, nowadays we have such an influx of new talent that has bolstered the women's division that legitimately rivals the men's roster and even the men's storyline. For the longest time, the men's roster has been teeming with talent but their storylines have been falling to the Wayside with wrestlers such as Montez Ford being buried, even though he's such an extreme talent. Another that comes to mind is Ricochet. However, you have talent on the women's side like Bayley, Asuka, the WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley - a worthy successor to Chyna, and of course "The Man" Becky Lynch, in addition to countless other wrestlers on the women's roster. No one is excluded because all the talent are legitimate and ones that I enjoy watching but the recent shakeups of the WWE with exchanges from AEW has seen surprising matchups and for a long time, no one was surprised when Jade Cargill made her debut in WWE's 2023 Women's Royal Rumble.
There comes a time when two top superstars come face to face in the squared circle and the atmosphere is electrifying because you know it would be a fantastic match to watch: The Rock vs Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker vs HBK, The New Day vs The Usos...primarily because you don't know who you want to root for. In the 2023 women's Royal Rumble, we got such a moment when Jade Cargill and Fan Favorite Bianca Bel-Air faced off for a moment with the Wrestlemania sign sitting in the background. Jade, for most of her career, has been a wrestler over at AEW. She recently signed a contract with WWE and debuted at the Royal Rumble. Jade also is known for her antics and trash talk in the ring as well as her cosplay prowess, many dubbing her Storm because she looks so much like the comic book superhero. Beyond that, the biggest thing that I can think of personally is seeing two amazing black women athletes headlining WrestleMania once more. The last time we got something like that, it was Bianca Bel-Air vs Sasha Banks when she was still with WWE and that match was phenomenal so much so that it won an award for best match. I personally really look forward to seeing Bianca Bel-Air - arguably one of the strongEST women in the WWE - take on a powerhouse like Jade Cargill in the Square Circle headlining one of the nights of WrestleMania. Maybe not in 2024 as Jade needs to get acclimated to the way WWE does things under Triple H's reign as creative director. But definitely in 2025, if that match does not happen, I'll be vastly disappointed.
So the rest of y'all can have your Nicki vs Megan beef, this is THE match between two prominent black women in their industry to look out for.
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